Overwintering containers - Wildlife Gardeners

amelanchier · 10-22-2016, 08:09 AM

I've got some year-old native plants in large nursery pots (winter-sowed last year). The nursery pots are really large. I want the plants to get a cold winter, but I don't want them to freeze solid and die, obviously. I'm in zone 5a now - it can get down to -20, although -15 is a more typical annual low. So I can't keep them outside or inside, it seems to me. The usual suggestion is a garage, but I don't have one of those either. I could ask a friend with a garage to house my plants for the winter, but that could be a hassle for them. So I'm looking for other options.

One thought is to wait and see what the snow cover is like by mid December. If it's really thick, maybe they will be insulated enough to survive outdoors. They're in nursery pots with holes in the bottom, so it is possible for their roots to grow into the ground, though they haven't done so yet. Does anyone else have experience trying to overwinter container plants outdoors in a cold climate? Another option might be to try to get the plants close to a dryer vent or something that would be a bit warmer.

EllenW · 10-23-2016, 10:07 AM

I moved many plants here in January. Some were just in plastic bags. I put them all on the side of the house and covered them with straw. They did fine. That was in Maryland though. It is a warmer climate here. I suggest putting them outside and insulating them well with whatever you have

dapjwy · 10-23-2016, 10:30 AM

I have over-wintered mature, container-grown natives over the years; most have survived. I lost things like young blackgum trees and, more recently, little bluestem seedlings.

I'm in Northeastern PA (but was in Western PA for the blackgum and other containers). Most of the winter-sown seedlings that didn't get planted that year did survive. I think Ellen has a good idea. I've always put mine on the side of the house where they are protected from most wind. I have always planned to put mulch/shredded bark between the pots in a wooded. Fram, but I rarely get around during to it.

Good luck. Keep us posted.

linrose · 10-24-2016, 11:06 AM

I've gardened in New Hampshire, Vermont and Maine so I know it can be challenging. If you have a yard of any sort, dig a trench the depth of the pots and sink them backfilling with soil. It's really the survival of the roots from the freeze/thaw cycle that's important. Mulching with any material can be problematic as rodents can get in there and nest and munch on the the plants, especially woodies.

amelanchier · 10-24-2016, 07:26 PM

Good thoughts, everyone. I don't have a shovel since our last move, but I do have a hand trowel, and I could probably at least dig a shallow trench in an obscure spot. We're renting, so there are limits to what I can do as far as terraforming goes (!), but in an obscure corner of brush and woods edge where old branches and grass clippings have been dumped, I bet I could get away with it.

linrose · 10-25-2016, 12:37 PM

Oh my gosh, you need a shovel ASAP! I can't imagine doing all that digging with a hand trowel no matter how sandy your soil is. Your idea of a location sounds perfect as the soil is probably pretty easy to dig with all the clippings deposited there over the years as long as you can avoid tree roots and such.

amelanchier · 10-26-2016, 07:55 PM

Yeah, I know... We just don't have room for it in the apartment! That's why we left it behind to begin with. Can't wait to get into a house again.

dapjwy · 10-30-2016, 08:42 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by amelanchier

Yeah, I know... We just don't have room for it in the apartment! That's why we left it behind to begin with. Can't wait to get into a house again.

I hear you.

I was lucky enough to have permission to grow things in containers before we moved into our apartment. Then we took them to every place we rented (giving some away each time we moved...and losing just a couple of thing along he way). When we got to our own property, I put in several trees I'd had with me for years. They were pretty much lost scattered around our two acres--but they are maturing now and much more noticeable.

One of the white pine seedlings that I got from school of Earth Day (~20 years ago) finally made two pine cones a year or two ago...and again this year.

I hope you have great success with all you are growing...and I hope it isn't too long before you have a place of your own again...with land and a place to store a shovel.

amelanchier · 11-01-2016, 03:26 PM

It's nice to see the babies grow up, isn't it! I am hoping that a year from now, I'll have about 15 large nursery pots with plants of different sorts. We shall see.

dapjwy · 11-01-2016, 08:30 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by amelanchier

It's nice to see the babies grow up, isn't it! I am hoping that a year from now, I'll have about 15 large nursery pots with plants of different sorts. We shall see.

Yes, it sure is!

I hope so too.

10-22-2016, 08:09 AM	#1
amelanchier WG Facebook Administrator Join Date: Mar 2009 Location: Lyme, NH	Overwintering containers I've got some year-old native plants in large nursery pots (winter-sowed last year). The nursery pots are really large. I want the plants to get a cold winter, but I don't want them to freeze solid and die, obviously. I'm in zone 5a now - it can get down to -20, although -15 is a more typical annual low. So I can't keep them outside or inside, it seems to me. The usual suggestion is a garage, but I don't have one of those either. I could ask a friend with a garage to house my plants for the winter, but that could be a hassle for them. So I'm looking for other options. One thought is to wait and see what the snow cover is like by mid December. If it's really thick, maybe they will be insulated enough to survive outdoors. They're in nursery pots with holes in the bottom, so it is possible for their roots to grow into the ground, though they haven't done so yet. Does anyone else have experience trying to overwinter container plants outdoors in a cold climate? Another option might be to try to get the plants close to a dryer vent or something that would be a bit warmer. __________________ "I take the part of the trees as against all their enemies." -J.R.R. Tolkien

10-23-2016, 10:07 AM	#2
EllenW Alternate POM Judge Join Date: Apr 2013 Location: Maryland	I moved many plants here in January. Some were just in plastic bags. I put them all on the side of the house and covered them with straw. They did fine. That was in Maryland though. It is a warmer climate here. I suggest putting them outside and insulating them well with whatever you have __________________ In all things of nature there is something of the marvelous. Aristotle

10-23-2016, 10:30 AM	#3
dapjwy WG Hospitality & UAOKA recipient Join Date: Dec 2009 Location: Pennsylvania	I have over-wintered mature, container-grown natives over the years; most have survived. I lost things like young blackgum trees and, more recently, little bluestem seedlings. I'm in Northeastern PA (but was in Western PA for the blackgum and other containers). Most of the winter-sown seedlings that didn't get planted that year did survive. I think Ellen has a good idea. I've always put mine on the side of the house where they are protected from most wind. I have always planned to put mulch/shredded bark between the pots in a wooded. Fram, but I rarely get around during to it. Good luck. Keep us posted. __________________ "If suburbia were landscaped with meadows, prairies, thickets or forests, or combinations of these, then the water would sparkle, fish would be good to eat again, birds would sing and human spirits would soar." ~ Lorrie Otto ~ A Native Backyard Blog ~

10-24-2016, 11:06 AM	#4
linrose WG Fundraising Coordinator Join Date: Feb 2010 Location: Kentucky	I've gardened in New Hampshire, Vermont and Maine so I know it can be challenging. If you have a yard of any sort, dig a trench the depth of the pots and sink them backfilling with soil. It's really the survival of the roots from the freeze/thaw cycle that's important. Mulching with any material can be problematic as rodents can get in there and nest and munch on the the plants, especially woodies. __________________ “To be whole. To be complete. Wildness reminds us what it means to be human, what we are connected to rather than what we are separate from.” ― Terry Tempest Williams

10-24-2016, 07:26 PM	#5
amelanchier WG Facebook Administrator Join Date: Mar 2009 Location: Lyme, NH	Good thoughts, everyone. I don't have a shovel since our last move, but I do have a hand trowel, and I could probably at least dig a shallow trench in an obscure spot. We're renting, so there are limits to what I can do as far as terraforming goes (!), but in an obscure corner of brush and woods edge where old branches and grass clippings have been dumped, I bet I could get away with it. __________________ "I take the part of the trees as against all their enemies." -J.R.R. Tolkien

10-25-2016, 12:37 PM	#6
linrose WG Fundraising Coordinator Join Date: Feb 2010 Location: Kentucky	Oh my gosh, you need a shovel ASAP! I can't imagine doing all that digging with a hand trowel no matter how sandy your soil is. Your idea of a location sounds perfect as the soil is probably pretty easy to dig with all the clippings deposited there over the years as long as you can avoid tree roots and such. __________________ “To be whole. To be complete. Wildness reminds us what it means to be human, what we are connected to rather than what we are separate from.” ― Terry Tempest Williams

10-26-2016, 07:55 PM	#7
amelanchier WG Facebook Administrator Join Date: Mar 2009 Location: Lyme, NH	Yeah, I know... We just don't have room for it in the apartment! That's why we left it behind to begin with. Can't wait to get into a house again. __________________ "I take the part of the trees as against all their enemies." -J.R.R. Tolkien

11-01-2016, 03:26 PM	#9
amelanchier WG Facebook Administrator Join Date: Mar 2009 Location: Lyme, NH	It's nice to see the babies grow up, isn't it! I am hoping that a year from now, I'll have about 15 large nursery pots with plants of different sorts. We shall see. __________________ "I take the part of the trees as against all their enemies." -J.R.R. Tolkien

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